BirdBox2016: eggs at last

This season has certainly been unusual compared to the 7 previous years.

Following an unusually mild winter we have had to suffer a lot of cold, and often gloomy days during April.

So while we have generally noticed eggs appearing in our nest boxes in early April, this year we have had to wait a few weeks longer.

Midori as a Site-Specific Browser

A Site-Specific Browser (SSB) is a program or application that is dedicated to loading and exploring a single web site.

This allows a user to simply click on an icon and go straight to a web site, often using an interface with minimum functionality.

But my main interest in the SSB approach has more to do with security than ease of use.

Inexperienced parents: I just don't buy it!

A common reason offered for the failure of a pair of garden birds to successfully raise a brood is that "...the parents are probably inexperienced..."

This view seems to be so widespread, that even the good folk on BBC SpringWatch have been known to offer this explanation.

But surely this is another example of people dreaming up a simple theory without thinking things through...

KitchenPi: an internet radio for my kitchen

We needed a radio in the kitchen to replace our Bush DAB/FM portable which has put in good service, although DAB reception in our area has never been great.

As space is at a premium, I wanted the new radio to take up as little space as possible.

So I came up with the idea of building something that would fit under the eye-level kitchen cabinets, behind the decorative molding.

BirdBox2016: the odd couple

From previous years, it is generally the first 10 days of April when nesting tits complete their nests and the first eggs appear [at least in our garden].

A pair of blue tits took over our Maple Tree bird box early in March, and have been visiting regularly right through the last 4 or 5 weeks.

However, their behaviour has not been typical from our experience of observing via box cameras since the start of the 2009 season.

Raspberry Pi 3: a Linux desktop computer?

I now have a Raspberry Pi 3 in addition to my other 10 Pi boards.

This is my first Pi 3 and it does appear to be even quicker than my Pi 2.

But is it fast enough to be used as the basis for a Linux desktop computer?